Specimen Minimum Volume

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Specimen Required or Minimum Volume

January 2011

When you access the information in Mayo Medical Laboratories' paper or electronic test catalogs, you'll see there is a "Specimen Required" field and a "Minimum Volume" field. The amount requested in the "Specimen Required" field is our preferred volume, which has been established to optimize testing. On the example shown in this slide, our preferred volume is 2.2 mL. That amount allows the laboratory to quickly process specimen containers, present the containers to the instruments, and perform repeat testing, if necessary. Because many of our testing processes are fully automated, this volume allows hands-free processing and testing, and our quickest turnaround time. Because patient values are frequently abnormal, repeat testing, dilutions, or other specimen manipulations often are required to obtain a reliable, reportable result. Our preferred specimen requirements allow this to occur in a timely fashion.

However, when the venipuncture is technically difficult or the patient is at risk of complications from blood loss (such as pediatric or intensive-care patients), it frequently becomes a question of the smallest amount of specimen Mayo can successfully analyze. This is where specimen minimum volume becomes significant. In this example, the minimum volume is 1.1 mL.